Senate panel seeks speedy completion of Karachi water project

Senate body decides to convene quarterly review meetings to monitor the K-IV, other important projects

KARACHI:

The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Friday decided to hold quarterly review meetings to monitor the K-IV and other key projects, push for faster progress, and proposed convening a joint session of all relevant Senate committees to help resolve Karachi's longstanding water and sewerage problems.

The body, which met with Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hassan in the chair at the Sindh Assembly Building, received detailed briefings on the performance of the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) and the Ogra.

While taking notice of water supply issues in Karachi, on the panel urged the Sindh Government to take swift steps for curbing the tanker mafia and upgrading existing water infrastructure of the metropolis at par with the growing population.

The Senate body decided to convene quarterly review meetings to monitor the K-IV and other important projects and expediting progress on them. It also suggested holding a joint meeting of all the relevant Senate committees with attendance of Sindh chief minister, Karachi mayor and senior officials for resolution of Karachi's long standing water and sewerage woes.

The senators raised concerns over the water supply situation in Karachi and unauthorized operations of the tanker mafia, lamenting that the tanker mafia has been allowed to "hijack the city's water supply", forcing citizens to pay for water.

The committee urged the Sindh Government to take immediate measures to curb the tanker mafia and upgrade Karachi's existing water infrastructure in line with the K-IV water supply project and the rapidly growing requirements of the city.

The committee further decided that the matters related to the funding and progress of the K-IV project would be reviewed on a quarterly basis. It suggested convening a single-point agenda joint meeting of Senate Standing Committees on Finance with participation of the Sindh chief minister, chief secretary, Karachi mayor, KWSC MD and other stakeholders. (With input from APP)